Ram Ramblings: Lincoln (Pa.) fans, alumni fighting back after firing of John Hill

Courtesy: The LU Athletics
Coach John Hill

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- I always find it rather amusing when a CIAA school fires a coach for vague reasons.

My first reaction to the coach being fired, in this case John Hill of Lincoln (Pa.), is always this. “Well, who are they going to get, John Wooden?”

I’ve known Hill a long time. Back when I first started covering WSSU 20 years ago he was a young assistant with Sam Hanger during those wild years not too long after Big House Gaines was forced into retirement.

Hill has bounced around the CIAA for several years but had seemingly found a home at Lincoln (Pa.), a school that has about zero basketball tradition. But Hill and his scrappy brand of 6-2 guards always have played with a chip on their shoulder.

So after Hill and the Lions beat WSSU for their first CIAA Tournament victory in a long time late last month it was historic. The win was the first for Lincoln (Pa.) in the tournament since rejoining the CIAA in 2010.

But that win wasn’t enough to save Hill’s job.

It’s no secret that when a school gets a new chancellor or president or a new athletics director they all want to make their marks in a hurry. But in this case the fans and alumni (yes, Lincoln has some of those) have started a petition to reinstate Hill.

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